Moray McLaren's Promotional Wheel Continues To Turn...

The promo is featured on the front page of Motionographer.com AGAIN today (promoting a talk I'm giving at the Bodhi Gallery on Brick Lane next Thursday (see flyer below)).
AND, for all you Londoners, the promo is featured in today Evening Standard newspaper.
GO READ!


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We Have Teaser

Behold!
An online teaser for my next music promo. This one's for the super talented We Have Band.
It will be released on the world this time next week.
Watch this space!


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Human Interface

Created by the ingenious Multitouch-Barcelona, this computer/human live art interaction is a joy to watch.
Watch out for the download section; it's super cute.

Carrie Louise

I shared a studio with this young lady for a great 10 months until financial issues forced me to move out (boooo!!! - stupid recession!!).
She's been carving her craft an art director for the past few years; having been commissioned by the likes of Patrice De Villers and David Ellis, as well as establishing a long-standing creative partnership with photographer Dean Chalkey (the day she went on the shoot with Robert Smith I almost cried with jealousy).
She's just launched her new website, and it's friggin' awesome! Go check it out!!


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BlinkArt

A new wing of Blink Productions has had its doors open for a few months now, and it's just opened its welcoming arms to yours truely - yep, I'm now represented for commercial illustration! Wooop!
Blink Art is home to a wide spectrum of image makers, most being stills and installation work from commercial directors signed to the production company.
With multi-talented signings such as Pleix, Kuba, Lynn Fox, and Carl Burgress (to name just a few), I'm really excited to see what's going to be coming out of this new venture over the coming months...



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Now Fuck Off!

You've probably seen this already, but if not then you're in for a treat.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Snatch Wars...

Ladyscraper

Not only is this the most perfect name for a band, but this video is just nuts...



I saw this at BUG last night.
Just awesome on the big screen at the BFI. Just brain-bashingly good. It can't help but bring a smile to my face.
It's just nuts!
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Serge Seidlitz

Serge is a really awesome illustrator, and also someone I owe a lot to. He really helped me out when I was starting up, and actually was an integral part in me getting a commission from MTV back in 2007. Don't forget to visit his website.

Akron/Family

Saw them at the ICA last night.... mmmmm.... good music from NYC. Progressive, psychedelic rock. Some of their beats were so kick-ass.
I bought their LP right then and there. They're playing Rough Trade East this lunchtime.
I think I may pop down for another ear blasting.
BIG thanks to Bart, James, and Mark for taking me along (and also a big thanks to James Studholme whos ticket I took because he went home early and forgot he was supposed to be going to a gig last night - the ticket was well used).


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Tiga

What's that sound?

I like that sound.

I love that sound...



It's the sound of my shoes.

Directed by Alex & Liane

Our, Work Is, Never, Over

I just can't get enough of this interactive Daft Punk keyboard bash-a-thon.
SO insanely satisfying and addictive.
Thanks to James Hobson for winging this one my way...


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Moray McLaren Update...

So, LOTS of stuff has been going on with the Moray McLaren promo recently...

- 27th April = Premiered at Short & Sweet Film Night, Brick Lane, London
- 14th + 22nd May = Screening as part of BUG (The Evolution of the Music Video) at the BFI, Southbank, London
- 23rd May = Opening of "Nation Of Shopkeepers" pub in Leeds. The promo will be projected as part of the pub's window display.
- 30th May = 49th Krakow Film Festival, Kijow, Centrum Cinema.
- 4th June = Lecture, Exhibition, and Screening of Moray McLaren work as part of SeeNoEvil at Bodhi Gallery, Brick Lane

... and there's some potential of the promo being taken around the UK music festivals (Green Man, Latitude, Bestival etc.) by Short and Sweet.

It's been featured in the following blogs Motionographer, Creative Review, Boing Boing, Kanye West, Creativity. I've been interviewed in the June issue of Creativity (US), File Magazine (what used to be Specialten), and HitsPaper in Japan. Plus, I'm already in Stash DVD Magazine (US).

Exciting? Just a bit!

Oh, and you're only a couple of weeks away from the follow up to Moray! Yeah!

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Adrian Fleet

I can't believe I haven't posted Adrian's work up on this blog yet.
I absolutely love his work. Twisted and cute in equal measures.
Check out his portfolio NOW.



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My Daddy The Astronaut

As some on you already know, I have a slight thing for astronauts and space travel.
Here's a cute Nickelodeon cartoon from 1967, 1 year before the Apollo 11 landings.
Apparently this was the last Paramount Cartoon to be packaged in with the cinema presentation of a feature film (as they used to do); being shown before MGM's "2001: A Space Odyssey".
Cute!!
BRING BACK SHORTS BEFORE MOVIES!!


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HotBreathKaraoke - Foreign Tongues

I went to HotBreathKaraoke's annual extravaganza that is "Foreign Tongues" at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club last night. It's their equivilant of Eurovision, and it f**king rocked!
Loud, camp, and completely uncontrollable. Acts included...

From Norway; the gothic symphonic heavy metal of Tearhammer!
From Monaco; the smooth as silk cocktail yacht rock of Premier Cru!
From Czech Republic; streewise farmboy puppet funk masters International Live MCs!
From Georgia; exotic eastern ringtones telepop provided by Emotikon!
From Switzerland; the Alpine rock-a-billy fondue party that is Ricky Raclette!
And Santos and Pepe; a muy caliente bullfighter flamenco pop from Spain!!



It was great! I even got an ice cream from the 2008 Foreign Tongues champions Neopolitan from Italy.



What a treat!
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EUROVISION

Just a brilliant excuse to post this video up (like there needs to be one)...



Argh! I can't friggin' wait!!

Peaches

I just can't get enough of the new Peaches album at the moment. It just makes me feel extra gutted that I missed her (by all accounts) mind-blowing performance at the Royal Festival Hall last month. Oh well, I know she'll be back in the UK in the summer. A lady NOT to miss.
She's collaborated with the likes of Simian Mobile Disco, Digitalism, and Soulwax on this album; the title track below gives you an indication of how brilliant those collaborations turned out...


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Tilt-Shift Lenses

GOD! I love these tilt-shift lenses. How cute is this timelapse video made by Keith Loutit. Everything looks like stop-frame dinky toys! SO awesome (especially the dinky helicopter! Awwww)....


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Natalia Stuyk

Edinburgh/London based illustrator/animator Natalia Stuyk has just impressed me a great deal with her awesome new video for The Mae Shi - "Lamb And The Lion".
Her illustration work is awesome as well.

The Mae Shi - "Lamb And The Lion" by Natalia Stuyk from the mae shi on Vimeo.

What's My Age Again?

It's happened.
The genre of music that first shaped my teenage ears has become "retro".
Every Saturday at uber-cool-pub/venue Old Blue Last in Shoreditch is a night called "What's My Age Again"; a whole evening dedicated to pop-punk. Think Kerrang! circa 2001; think baggy shorts, think Blink 182, Pennywise, NOFX, Jimmy Eat World, Less Than Jake, think listening to this all on a discman!
For one I'll be embracing this move. It seems to be a once-a-month event at the moment, but I'll be there in June, with a black studded belt, my faded Warped Tour tshirt, shorts down to my ankles, and Eastpak rucksack haning over my arse.
They just better play Alkaline Trio...



("watched flies FUCK on channel 11!" Hell-friggin-yes!)

Banana Hammock Head Bang

Yet again, another gem sent my way by Chris Pell.

Everything about this is great...


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Google Maps Typography

This awesome alphabet was created (well, curated I guess) by Rhett Dashwood over the past several months; beginning October 2008 - April 2009.
Created by spending his spare time between projects geeking out on Google Maps.
LOVE IT!



Thanks to Chris Pell for winging this one my way.
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Fantastic!

Eeeeeeee!!!!!!
I was lucky enough to invited onto the set of the Wes Anderson's new animated film Fantastic Mr Fox today!
Being a massive Wes Anderson, stop-frame animation and Roald Dahl fan this was like my birthday and Christmas rolled into one (expect with less food and no alcohol).
I can't say too much about it because everything's still very top secret, but the puppets looked amazing, and the level of detail that goes into the set is mind blowing. Every scene that I saw on monitors as I walked around the 20+ animation booths was absolutely beautifully framed. The colour scheme also fits in nicely with its Autumn release date.
The ingenuity of all the crew on set was just mind-boggling.
Animation really is magic.

Unfortunately (and predictably), no photos were allowed on set, so this is all I can show you...



With this, and Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are being scheduled for release on exactly the same day, October 23rd is going to be a busy cinema day!

A BIG thank you to Toby Howell for making this happen.

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The World Of Paper Keeps on Amazing Me

I know paper's really trendy at the moment etc. but I really do love the versatility of the medium. SO great.

Anger Release Vending Machines

I love vending machines. They really do have a magical quality; like gambling on a slot machine where you always get the prize you want (well, maybe not).
However, the artists Yarisal and Kublitz have taken the vending machine to a whole new height of awesomeness by adapting a standard machine to allow people to relieve their stress through breaking ceramic and glass objects of their choice.
Check out their website for more genius.



Source: Designboom.com

I Like Turtles

Yes he does...


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The Whitest Boy Alive Update

FUCK YES! I found a recorded version of "Show Me Love" cover by The Whitest Boy Alive.

It can be downloaded HERE

Also, loads of other WBA goodies can be downloaded off Waves At Night blog.

You have NO idea how long I've been looking for that.


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The Whitest Boy Alive

I've been a big fan of The Whitest Boy Alive since first seeing Geoff McFetridge's awesome video for "Golden Cage", back in Spring 07 and investigating further. Now Erlend Oye and the gang are back with a second album "Rules" and by god it rocks!
Here's a video of them playing the track "1517" live at IC Berlin. Isn't Berlin just the coolest city? And doesn't Erlend's voice just melt like chocolate mmmmm.....



PS - I still can't find their AWESOME live rendition of "Show Me Love" by Robin S!!! If anyone has managed to track down a recorded version of it I would weep tears of joy if you winged it my way. Thanks
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Contains Nudity...

Here is one of the most original, and thought provoking music videos I've seen in a very long time. "Lessons Learned" by Matt and Kim is directed by Taylor Cohen and Otto Arsenault.
So perfectly structured; keep watching for the great ending as well.


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Put A Donk On It

Take your favourite track, upload it onto this site, and it'll spit it back out-to-ya with a donk on it.
Genius!

Click on the image below for a bangin' donk version of NWA's Straight Outta Compton.